Students Shine in Spring Choral Concert

The Spring Choral Concert Tuesday night showcased the hard work of four different singing groups, and brought the audience to its feet.

The student singers, under the direction of Barbara Klemp, director of choral activities, performed for nearly two hours, accompanied by students Sophie Blumert and Patrick Sullivan on piano.

Just before the closing song, Klemp recognized each of the graduating seniors and announced where they would be going to college and what they would be studying. She also thanked Superintendent Jim O’Neill, who is retiring, for all his support. Klemp also said that the CHS music students traveled last week to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to participate in the North American Music Festival, followed by a trip to Hershey Park. She said when she was checking everyone out of the hotel, the manager asked to see her.

“He told me, ‘You can bring those kids back here anytime. They were terrific,’” Klemp said.

The Choraliers, all female singers, opened with Haydn’s “Dona Nobis Pacem.” The Cape Breton folk song “Song for the Mira” featured Evan Cassak on the cello, Antonia Kitsopoulos on the oboe, Susan Nahri on the viola and Peter Wang on the violin. The singers also performed “Come to my Garden” and “A Lover’s Concerto.”

The Concert Choir opened their segment with the familiar Scottish folk song “Rueben and Rachel” before moving into the entertaining “Tres Cantos Natibos Dos Indios Kraó” complete with hand and mouth sound effects. They finished with “When You Believe,” from “The Prince of Egypt,” featuring a solo by Michael Nitting.

The Select Choir, a smaller group of male and female singers, opened with the traditional spiritual “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord,” then “Sing Me To Heaven” before moving to the front of the stage for a finger-snapping rendition of “Change the World,” featuring a solo by Antonia Kitsopoulos.

Chatham Voices, all female, sang “Non Nobis, Domine” as they slowly walked through the auditorium and onto the stage. They followed with the spiritual “I’m Goin’ Home on a Cloud,” with a solo by Madeleine Dean, closing with “How Can I Keep From Singing.”

Sophie Blumart gave a breathtaking solo piano rendition of Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5,” from memory, which received a thundering ovation from the audience.

Select Voices performed selections from the students’ March 30 performance at Lincoln Center and April 29 performance at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, including “Poor Man Lazarus,” “Alleluia” and a stirring rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Pie Jesu” with solos by MinJee Kim and Lindsey Kellstrom. They rounded out their set with “America the Beautiful” and “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

The combined voices of the Concert Choir and Choraliers performed “Dirait-on,” “Fa Una Canzone” and the American folk song “The Water is Wide.”

The concert’s grand finale was “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” which brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation.